1. technology and computing
2. software
3. graphics software

eLearning Checklist
Best Practice
Yes
No
N.A.
Multimedia Principle
1. Graphics and text are used to present instructional content.
2. Graphics are relevant to the instructional purpose rather than decorative.
3. Representative graphics are used to illustrate concrete facts, concepts and their parts.
4. Animations are used primarily to illustrate hands-on procedures.
5. Organizational graphics are used to show relationships among ideas or lesson topics or where the
parts are located within a whole structure.
6. Relational graphics are used to show quantitative relationships among variables.
7. Transformational graphics, such as a video showing how to operate equipment, are used to show
changes over time.
8. Interpretive graphics, such as a series of static frames, are used to explain how a system works or to
make invisible phenomena visible.
9. Graphics are used as a lesson interface for case studies.
Contiguity Principle
1. Screens that place printed text next to the portion of the graphic it describes.
2. Feedback that appears on the same screen as the question and responses.
3. Directions that appear on the same screen in which the steps are to be applied.
4. Linked information does not appear in windows that obscure related information on the primary
screen.
5. Animations that can be played independently of text that describes the animation.
6. Text placed next to or within graphics rather than below them.
7. Legend callouts that are embedded within the graphic rather than separated from it.
8. Narrated graphics in which corresponding words and graphics are presented at the same time.
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Modality Principle
1. Use of audio narration to explain on-screen graphics or animations.
2. Use of text for information that learners will need as reference, such as technical terms or directions
to practice exercises.
Redundancy Principle
1. Graphics are described by words presented in the form of audio narration, not by concurrent
narration and redundant text.
2. On-screen text can be narrated when the screens do not include graphics.
3. When language is challenging, words are presented as text.
4. Short text labels are expanded with audio narration.
Coherence Principle
1. Lessons that do not contain extraneous sounds in the form of background music or sounds.
2. Lessons that do not use illustrations, photos, and video clips that may be interesting but are not
essential to the knowledge and skills to be learned.
3. Lessons that do not contain interesting stories or details that are not essential to the instructional
goal.
4. Lessons that use simpler visual illustrations such as line drawings when the goal is to help learners
build understanding.
5. Lessons that present the core content with the minimal amount of words and graphics needed to
help the learner understand the main points.
Personalization Principle
1. Instructional content is presented in conversational language using “you,” “your,” “I,” “our,” and
“we.”
2. Coaching is provided via conversational narration from on-screen characters (that is, pedagogical
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agents).
3. Agents do not need to look realistic but should exhibit human behaviors.
4. Agent dialog is presented via audio narration.
5. Voice quality and script are natural and conversational.
6. Agents serve a valid instructional purpose.
7. The course author expresses is or her own point of view or experience in ways that are relevant to
the instructional goals.
Segmenting and Pre-Training Principles
1. Material is presented in manageable segments (such as short clips of narrated animation) controlled
by the learner, rather than as a continuous unit (such as a long clip of narrated animation).
2. Animation sequences pause at logical segments with provision of a replay or continue button.
3. Key concepts are named and their characteristics are described before presenting the processes or
procedures to which the concepts are linked.
4. Concepts or terms included in pre-training are introduced in the context of the whole process or
procedure.
Leveraging Examples in eLearning
1. Worked examples that fade from a full worked example into a full problem assignment.
2. Worked examples accompanied by self-explanation questions.
3. Worked examples in which learners collaborate on solving a problem while viewing a tutor-tutee
dialog about that problem (that is, active observation).
4. Worked examples that offer instructional explanations of the worked steps when the learning goal
involves conceptual knowledge and when no self-explanation questions are included.
5. Worked examples that minimize cognitive load by applying appropriate multimedia principles
 Use relevant visuals
 Explain visuals with audio or text – not both
 Integrate explanatory text close to relevant visual
 Segment worked examples into chunks that focus attention to underlying principles
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 Present complex examples under learner control of pacing
 Offer pre-training of technical context that is unfamiliar to learners ir use a familiar context
6. Multiple varied-context worked examples for far transfer learning.
7. Interactions that encourage learners to actively compare sets of varied context examples for fartransfer learning.
Practice in eLearning
1. Job-relevant overt practice questions that require participants to apply new content in authentic
ways.
2. Feedback that not only tells the respondent whether an answer is correct or incorrect but gives an
explanation as well.
3. Explanatory feedback that focuses on the task or on the task process.
4. The number of practice opportunities reflects the criticality of the job skills and the need for
automaticity.
5. Practice exercises distributed throughout the learning event.
6. For less critical tasks that do not require over-learning, fewer practice exercises.
7. For learning to respond to categories of problems, practice interactions mix categories.
8. Practice exercises that minimize extraneous cognitive load by applying appropriate multimedia
principles.
 Use relevant visuals
 Use text to provide directions and feedback close to related visuals or response areas
 Avoid split attention with response formats
 Avoid gratuitous sounds or other distractions
9. Faded worked examples that end in a practice assignment.
Group Learning
1. In classes that focus on far transfer outcomes, group projects or case assignments that incorporate
some asynchronous work to allow time for reflection and individual research.
2. Small teams with participants of diverse prior knowledge and background.
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3. Structured collaborative team processes that support individual participation and accountability to
the team outcome.
4. Use of CSCL when there is adequate learning time to support team discussions and product
generation.
5. Evaluations of student work that reflect the accomplishments of each member of the team to
encourage interdependence.
Who’s In Control
1. Your content is relatively low in complexity and topics are not logically interdependent.
2. Your audience is likely to have high metacognitive or learning self-regulation skills.
3. Your audience is likely to have prior knowledge of the content.
4. Your lessons or courses are advanced so that learners have built a knowledge base.
5. You are designing the pacing options such as moving forward or backward or exiting the course.
6. You can easily add generic advisement such as “if you are new to these skills, take the lessons in
the sequence shown”.
7. You can include important instructional elements such as examples and practice in the default
navigational path.
8. You are using an animation and can pause it at logical breaks giving the learner the option to replay
or continue.
Consider adaptive designs when:
9. Your audience has a mix of background knowledge and skills related to the desired learning
outcomes.
10. Saving learning time is a high priority and there are sufficient numbers of highly paid staff to cost
justify the resources required.
11. Reaching high levels of skill and knowledge proficiency for all learners is a high priority.
12. Resources are available to create the assessments, decision logic, and alternative instructional
methods that characterize adaptive systems.
Consider program control when:
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13. Your audience is primarily novice and a high level of proficiency is a priority.
Cognitive Skills
1. Lessons that allow learners to observe and apply job-specific thinking skills.
2. Interactions that require learners to make their reasoning process and products explicit.
3. Lessons that model thinking processes and assign practice that reflect expert strategies derived from
cognitive task analysis.
4. Lessons that offer sufficient instructional guidance to ensure successful case resolution and learning
of problem-solving skills.
5. Lessons that include several diverse problem scenarios to foster a more robust set of problemsolving skills.
Gamification
1. Goals, rules, activities, feedback, and consequences are aligned to desired learning outcomes.
2. Sufficient structure and guidance are included to help learners reach instructional goals.
3. Feedback to learner responses includes explanations.
4. Explanations are incorporated between play rounds.
5. Self-explanation questions require learners to review and reflect on choices and consequences.
6. Visual support is included for games or simulations that rely on visualization skills.
7. Unguided exploration is avoided.
8. Simulation or game goal complexity and interface are managed in ways that adapt to learner prior
knowledge.
9. The game or simulation is easy to use via simple interface design and pre-training.
10. The interface and goals make relevance to the workplace salient.
11. Games and simulations are matched to learners who are motivated to initiate or complete learning
goals in simulation or game formats.
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